3.3 What Makes an Ecosystem Healthy? –
A. What are Balanced Ecosystems?
B. Let's Make a Food Chain
When one organism eats another, it gets energy. Scientists use diagrams with arrows to show how energy goes from one organism to another. There are two kinds of diagrams:
- Food Chain: A simple diagram that shows one single path of who eats who.
- Food Webs: A diagram that shows all of the food chains in an ecosystem.
These diagrams are kind of like nature’s menus. They show which animals eat other animals.
Directions: Before you learn about food webs, let’s make a simple food chain. Below are five living organisms from the Everglades: a frog, an alligator, a mosquito, an orchid and a racoon. Drag and drop each organism to figure out who eats who. The arrow should be pointing away from the animal that is getting eaten, and toward the animal that is doing the eating. It’s like a puzzle!
C. Read
What makes an ecosystem healthy?
Fact Finder: Now we’ll read more about how all of the organisms in an ecosystem work together to keep the ecosystem healthy. As you read, write down any important information in the “Fact Finder” section of your Mission Log.
D. What If?
What would happen?
Invasive species can ruin the balance in an ecosystem. They might eat another species. Or, they might compete for food. Let’s use our imagination and think about what would happen if something in the ecosystem changed….
Take a look at this food web. Select one organism from the food web. Then, with a partner or in your Mission Log, answer the following:
- What would happen if one animal in the food web was killed off by an invasive species?
- How many other species would be affected? Try to think of as many effects as possible!
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